This is a blog exploring the intersection of Christianity and the American legal system.

Monday, September 9, 2013

"i repent" Post From "Our Exceeding Joy" Blog

I love blogs. I love writing them. And I love reading them. I've got a list of a few I like on the right side of this page. But it is certainly not an exhaustive list. Time is limited. I don't have time to read 100% of each blog that piques my interest. I don't have time to read any on a regular basis. From time to time, if I have a few minutes, I go to one of the blogs I've bookmarked to catch up.

This morning I had such a little break in my day and wandered over to "Our Exceeding Joy." It is a blog by a woman named Sarah in Austin, Texas. I went to college and met my husband in Austin. I know first hand what a great town that is. But what initially got my attention is that Sarah is an adoptive mom like me.

I love the description of her blog. She describes herself first and foremost as "an avid reader and writer." She says her blog is an outlet where she writes "about the things that stir my soul" such as "Jesus, adoption, or human-trafficking." What a woman!

I read a lovely post that Sarah wrote earlier this summer on June 8th. It was entitled "i repent." Take a read of what she wrote. I wanted to share it because it is beautiful and inspiring. But I also thought it was very apropos of the new focus of my own blog.

In this post, Sarah explored her former hard-heartedness and judgmental tendencies towards people unlike her. I particularly loved the following passages:

It never crossed my mind that I could be wrong.

Maybe this response is because I grew up in a culture where there was this prevalent fear of being invaded by the homosexuals and the abortionists. We talked a big game, but when it actually came to believing that God could love all these sinners, we battened down the hatches and only let in like-minded people.

Maybe it’s because I was taught that it was more important to be right than to love.

Or maybe it’s just a symptom of being a fallen, broken person.

Sarah really hits the nail on the head. In our modern culture, it seems like everyone is yelling at everyone who disagrees with them. We don't listen to others who are different. We are not open to learning. We think we're always right, like we have a monopoly on truth. How arrogant. Even the disciples were continually misunderstanding Jesus's teachings though they were with him 24/7 for several years.

And as Sarah points out so eloquently, we've tragically adopted the attitude that being right is more important than loving. What a powerful statement. As Christ followers, we can't fault nonbelievers from embracing and living that attitude. But those of us who purport to have read and accepted the Gospels, we should know better. Being right is NOT more important than loving God's people, whomever they might be.

Take a read of the whole blog post, which is available at the link below. Meditate on it and keep it in your heart as you go through the day. Beautiful sentiments. Yeah, Sarah!